Harding fitz Eadnoth

Arms: Gules, three bills or battle -axes or.

Harding fitz Eadnoth held as his principle holding the manor of Merriott (from whence de Meriet) in 1086 at Crewkerne, Somerset. He lost most of the lands previously held by his father, much of which had gone to Hugh of Chester, in 1086.

Berkeley Manuscripts: Abstracts and Extracts of Smyth's Lives of the Berkeley Family, MS By Thomas Dudley Fosbroke (London, 1821), pp. 69-74 [on Googlebooks]

Descent of Robert Fitzharding — Origin of Danish Emigration. —

“There was asometyme an ordinance made in Denmark, that if soe the Kynge of that land had any more sons then on, then shuld the eldist sonne and heyre remain within the lande ; and the yonger brethren shulde be send with a substance of goods into other landis, and ther to live in eoviding all inconveniences of debates, that might chance atwixe them within their owne land; and for this cause this herding, a second sonne of the Kynge of Denmark, was send into this land, to Kinge William Conqueror; unto whom this Kinge William Conqueror gave grete riches, and send him to Bristowe, ther to inhabite, the yeare of our Lord 1069.” Id. p. 10, 11.

Fitzharding's Rank. — Robert Fitzharding, sometime Mayor of Bristol. Id. p. 14.

Harding. — Probably the son of Harold or Hardicanute. Id. Harding settled himself in Baldwin Street, Bristol, and became Mayor. He married one Livida, and had issue — sons, Robert, Nicholas, Elias, Jurden, Maurice — daughters, Agnes, Maud, Cicely. Id. p. 23.

Fitzharding. — Robert Fitzharding was born in Bristol towards the end of William the Conqueror's reign; bred up in that town with Harding his father, to whose estate he succeeded, and removed from Baldwin Street to a great stone house, which he built, upon the Frome. MS. Peel, p. 23.

Few small Properties in the Middle Ages. – There were not nineteen small Freeholds in all the Townships, Parishes, and Manors in the whole of Berkeley Hernesse, which Roger Berkeley of Dursley held. Id. p. 32.

Marriages in private Houses. –The Marriages, Covenants, and Peace of Robert Fitzharding's son were made in Robert's house at Bristol, in the presence of King Stephen, Henry Duke of Normandy, &c. MS. Peel, p. 45.

Berkeley Castle.—This antient fabrick at first comprehended only the inmost of the three gates, and what was within the same; the two utmost and all the buildings within them being the additions of Maurice eldest son to this Robert, and of Thomas the second, in the sixth year of King Edward II., and of Thomas the third, 8 Edward III. MS. Berkeley, p. 36.

Consecrated Ground supposed a Preservative of Buildings upon it, in the Family. — Mr. Smyth is of opinion that the site of the Castle, being upon that of the Nunnery, it would, because upon holy ground, continue happily in the Family of Berkeley. Id. p. 36.

Nunnery. —The Nunnery (at least some of the survivors of the Nuns) had a kind of hold or remaindership at Berkeley till King Stephen's death. Id. p. 42. [Three pounds laid out for cloathing three nuns. Rot. Pip. 1 Hen. II.]

Abbey of Augustine, Bristol. — Robert Fitzharding began the Abbey when Henry II. was only nine years old. Id. MS. Peel. Abbeys founded for the Preservation of Family. —“Robert Fitzharding is supposed by Mr. Smyth to have established the foundation of his Castle of Berkeley by building a House to God at Bristowe.” Id. p. 62. [See Fuller's Church History, Book VI. p. 326.]

Berkeley Hyrnesse. —The Grant of Berkeley Herness was made between September 7, 1150, and October 25, 1154. MS. Berkeley, p. 39. The tenure was by Barony; and Lord Berkeley takes his place and precedency from the first year of Henry II., anno 1154. The Hundred of Berkeley was appendant to the Manor; and a Leet of Resiants in the said Villages and Townships also annexed to it. Id. p. 44.

Robert Fitzharding's wife and Issue. —Eve, wife of Robert Fitzharding, founded the Maudlins of Bristol, and lived and continued there Prioress. MS. Peel, p. 46. She and her husband Robert both died in 1170.

Brothers and Sisters of Robert Fitzharding—Combe by Isotton Underedge— Price of Land–Estates partitioned, not descending in primogeniture — Huntingford — Peel Family. —“Elias Fitzharding was enfeoffed by his brother in one hide in Combe by Wotton Underedge; which land in 1618 was the inheritance of John Bridges. He held also one hide of land in Hunteneford, on the other side of Wotton, now (1618) the inheritance of Sir William Throgmorton, Bart. And if it be this Elias filius Hardingi, and not his grandchild, who by fine 5 Henry III. sold a yard-land in Stapleton to William Aldbury, for two markes, which was 76 yeares after, hee then survived his children's children, and died in extreme old age.— This Elias filius Hardingi had issue William, Harding, and Margaret. The said William had his father's land in Combe; aboute the wardship of whose sonne, called also William, was a suit in the 17th yere of King Henry the Third, betweene Thomas then Lord Berkeley, the first of that name, and the Abbot of Kingswood; which is all I have found of him, or of Margaret his sister. Harding, second sonne of the said Elias, had his father's land in Huntingford, who by Dionisan his wife had issue Matilda or Maud, who was married to Galfridus Vitulus, alias Geffrey Veel, a gentleman much favoured by Kinge John, and of special acceptation with many great Lords of that tyme, as the confirmacyon of that Kinge, made to him in the seventh of his raigne, doth of itself assure us: to which Geffry Veel also the Lord Robert de Berkeley, the second of that name, did, about the beginning of that King's raigne, give in frank marriage with the said Matilda or Maud, his cozen, divers other parcells of land in Hunteneford, and in the skirts of his Chace (or Forest, as it is there called) of Sincklewood: hereby that Hyde, Farme, or little Maner of Hunteneford was much enlarged.” MS. Berkeley, p. 27, 28.

Children of Robert Fitzharding — Cokerford — Longstane. — Nicholas second son of Robert Fitzharding had from his father Robert the Manors of Cokerford and Longstane, and divers lands in Tykenham, co. Somerset; and other lands and tenements in Cheshull, Porthashed, Rualach, &c.

Harding Mayor of Bristol was born 1060 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He died 6 Nov 1115 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. Harding married Livida on 1089 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

Livida was born 1069 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. She married Harding Mayor of Bristol on 1089 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

They had the following children:

  F i Agnes FITZ HARDING was born 1090. 

F ii Maude FITZ HARDING was born 1092 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
M iii Robert FITZ HARDING Lord Berkeley was born 1094 and died 5 Feb 1171.
M iv Nicholas FITZ HARDING was born 1096 and died 1171.
M v Elias FITZ HARDING was born 1098 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
M vi Jordan FITZ HARDING was born 1100 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
F vii Cecily FITZ HARDING was born 1102 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
M viii Maurice FITZ HARDING was born 1104 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.
HARDING is said to have been a younger son of the King of Denmark, who, according to a custom in his family, went forth into the world to seek his fortune, and attached himself to William Duke of Normandy, who was at that time preparing for the invasion and conquest of England. William rewarded his services with a large grant of lands and property in and around Bristol, where he settled about A.D., 1069, and became Praepositus; an office somewhat resembling the more modern one of Mayor, except that it was a permanent appointment. He resided in Baldwin street, married a lady whose name was Livida, had five sons and three daughters, and died 6th Nov. 1115.

From "The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire", "The Earl of Berkeley", pp 70-71 (1882). Also Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage", pp 232-233.

       "Harding of Bristol, said by genealogists to have been the son of a king of Denmark and companion to the Conqueror, has been conjectured by a modern historian to be identical with Harding (a contemporary of Harold and William, son of Eadnoth the Staller, an officer of Edward the Confessor, who survived the Conquest; but this identification can only be regarded as `not improbable.' His son, Robert FitzHarding, of Bristol, obtained from Henry, Duke of Normandy, afterwards Henry II, a grant of the hundred of Berkeley, called Berkeley Herness. He granted all the churches in Berkeley Herness to St. Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (now the cathedral), of which he is the reputed founder, and where he was buried, 1171. His only surviving son, Maurice de Berkeley, obtained in 1189 confirmations from King Richard I., and from Queen Eleanor of Berkeley Herness. `to be held in barony by the service of five knights.' He married Alice, daughter of Roger de Berkeley, of Dursley, the former Lord of Berkeley. Their eldest son, Robert de Berkeley, obtained a charter of confirmation from King Richard I., in 1199. He was one of the Barons at war with King John, and died May 13, 1219. He was succeeded by Thomas, his brother, whose grandson, Thomas de Berkeley, 6th Baron by tenure, had writs of summons to parliament from June 24, 1295 (the 23rd year of King Edward I.), to May 15, 1321 (the 14th year of King Edward II.). In 1301, 1302, and 1305 he was serving in the Scottish wars with Maurice and John his son; prisoner at the battle of Bannockburn, in June 1314; Justice of West Wales, 1317. He died July 23, ???. His younger son, James, was Bishop of Exeter, 1326."

.HARDING (EADNOTH 1) b.c.1060 m. LIVIDA of Gloucester d. after 1125 Bristol

The Berkeley family is unique in having an unbroken male line of descent from a Saxon ancestor before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 to the 20th Century. The family descends from Harding, the son of Eadnoth (Alnod), who was "Marshal" or "Staller", a high official under King Edward the Confessor. A study of dates makes it probable that this Harding had a son of the same name, perhaps the man who played a distinguished part in the Crusading Wars, helping King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, to win the battle of Jaffa in 1102. Harding was probably not the son of the king of Denmark or a companion of William the Conqueror.(<b>2)

Harding held as his principle holding the manor of Merriott (from whence de Meriet) in 1086 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. He lost most of the lands previously held by his father, much of which had gone to Hugh of Chester, in 1086. He was a young man in 1086, since his second son lived until the 1170's.(1)

William of Malmesbury, speaking of Harding as then alive, tells us (3) that he was 'better used to whet his tongue in strife than to wield his arms in war.' This Harding may probably be identified with the Harding who, in 1062, subscribed the confessor's Waltham charter as 'reginæ pincerna' (4), and continued after the Conquest in the household of Eadgyth, appearing as a witness to the sale of Combe to Bishop Gisa, transacted in Eadgyth's presence at Wilton in 1072 (5). In 1086 he held lands in Gloucestershire in pledge of a certain Brihtric, who held them in the time of Edward the Confessor (<b>6). It is safe to assume that Robert FitzHarding was his son. It is possible that Harding had an elder son, Nicolas, the ancestor of the family of Meriet. If this was so, the younger son soon outstripped the older in wealth.(7)

The parentage of Harding (living c. 1125) has been long and hotly disputed. He has been termed "son of the King of Denmark" (as in the petition of 1661), "Mayor of Bristol", and so forth. The view now generally accepted is that he was the son of Eadnoth (killed 1068), "Staller" to King Harold and to Edward the Confessor. E.A. Freeman pronounces this descent "in the highest degree probable." Eyton (in his "Shropshire") devoted much attention to the subject. Reference may also be made to the valuable researches of A. S. Ellis, and to Greenfield's most valuable Pedigree of Meriet, tracing the descent of that family from Nicholas de Meriet, elder brother to Robert Fitz Harding. The charters of Berkeley Castle were edited for Lord FitzHardinge in 1892 by I. H. Jeayes. Some genealogy websites also purport that Harding married the daughter of the King of Denmark, apparently confusing the above-mentioned petition of 1661. (8)

The following was in Dugdale's Baronage:

...That Harding... is by some said [Vet. MS. in castro de Berkley Lel Coll. Vol. 1. 912] to have been the youngest Son to one of the Kings of Denmark; and by [Lel. Itin. 420] others, Ex Regia Prosapia Fegum Daniæ ortus, Descended from the Royal Line of those Kings (which little differs in point of honor and dignity:) And that, accompanying Duke William of Normandy, in that signal expedition which he made into England, he was in that memorable Battle, with him, against King Harold, wherein being victor, he thenceforth became King of this Realm. But all I have farther seen of this Harding, is, That after that Conquest, he held Wirenhort (now called Whetenhust) in Com. Gloc. of Earl Brictrick, in mortgage; and that he died 6 Nov. 16. Hen. 1. Other Sons this Harding, before-specified, had, viz. Nicholas, who in 12 Hen. 2. residing in Somersetshire, held there two Knights Fees, and an half of the King; Elias, Jordan, and Maurice; as also three Daughters, Agnes, the Wife of Hugh de Haselee, Maud, and Cicely.(9)

Don't believe everything you read!

Issue-

· ?3I. ELIAS/JOHN- b.c.1086 · II. Robert- b.c.1095, m. Eva FitzEstmond, bur. 5 Feb. 1171 St. Augustine's Priory, Bristol. Robert "The Devout" FitzHarding was the Lord of Berkeley · III. Nicholas- b.c.1100, m. niece of Robert, Bishop of Salisbury, d. before 1171 Ref:

(1) Domesday People- Keats-Rohan, p. 244 (2) Burke's Peerage and Baronetage- pp. 43-47, 232-3, The Ligon Family; The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire- The Earl of Berkeley, pp. 70-71, 254 (1882) (3) Gest. Reg.- Vol. III, p. 254 (4) Codex Dipl.- Vol. IV, p. 159 (5) Liber Albus- Vol. III, p. 254 fo. Chapter Records, Wells (6) Domesday- Vol. I, 170 B (7)Dictionary of National Biography- Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee, Ed., MacMillan Co., New York & Smith, Elder & Co. London, 1908, vol II, p. 340 (8) Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom- G. E Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000- Vol. II, p.124 (d) (9) Dugdale's Baronage- Vol. I, Berkley, pp. 349-369

The Plantagenet Ancestry-William Henry Turton, 1968- p. 120

Harding Fitz Eadnoth, High Prince of Denmark, Lord of Marriott, Mayor of Bristol

Distinguished in assisting King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in Crusade to win the battle of Jaffa in 1102.

Arms: Gules, three bills or battle -axes or.

Harding fitz Eadnoth held as his principle holding the manor of Merriott (from whence de Meriet) in 1086 at Crewkerne, Somerset. He lost most of the lands previously held by his father, much of which had gone to Hugh of Chester, in 1086.

See "My Lines"

( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p207.htm#i23373 )

from Compiler: R. B. Stewart, Evans, GA

( http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/index.htm )

Harding Mayor of Bristol was born 1060 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. He died 6 Nov 1115 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. Harding married Livida on 1089 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

Livida was born 1069 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. She married Harding Mayor of Bristol on 1089 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

They had the following children:

F i Agnes FITZ HARDING was born 1090. F ii Maude FITZ HARDING was born 1092 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. M iii Robert FITZ HARDING Lord Berkeley was born 1094 and died 5 Feb 1171. M iv Nicholas FITZ HARDING was born 1096 and died 1171. M v Elias FITZ HARDING was born 1098 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. M vi Jordan FITZ HARDING was born 1100 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. F vii Cecily FITZ HARDING was born 1102 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England. M viii Maurice FITZ HARDING was born 1104 in Bristol, Gloucestershire, England.

HARDING is said to have been a younger son of the King of Denmark, who, according to a custom in his family, went forth into the world to seek his fortune, and attached himself to William Duke of Normandy, who was at that time preparing for the invasion and conquest of England. William rewarded his services with a large grant of lands and property in and around Bristol, where he settled about A.D., 1069, and became Praepositus; an office somewhat resembling the more modern one of Mayor, except that it was a permanent appointment. He resided in Baldwin street, married a lady whose name was Livida, had five sons and three daughters, and died 6th Nov. 1115.

From "The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire", "The Earl of Berkeley", pp 70-71 (1882). Also Burke's "Peerage and Baronetage", pp 232-233.

"Harding of Bristol, said by genealogists to have been the son of a king of Denmark and companion to the Conqueror, has been conjectured by a modern historian to be identical with Harding (a contemporary of Harold and William, son of Eadnoth the Staller, an officer of Edward the Confessor, who survived the Conquest; but this identification can only be regarded as not improbable.' His son, Robert FitzHarding, of Bristol, obtained from Henry, Duke of Normandy, afterwards Henry II, a grant of the hundred of Berkeley, called Berkeley Herness. He granted all the churches in Berkeley Herness to St. Augustine's Abbey, Bristol (now the cathedral), of which he is the reputed founder, and where he was buried, 1171. His only surviving son, Maurice de Berkeley, obtained in 1189 confirmations from King Richard I., and from Queen Eleanor of Berkeley Herness. to be held in barony by the service of five knights.' He married Alice, daughter of Roger de Berkeley, of Dursley, the former Lord of Berkeley. Their eldest son, Robert de Berkeley, obtained a charter of confirmation from King Richard I., in 1199. He was one of the Barons at war with King John, and died May 13, 1219. He was succeeded by Thomas, his brother, whose grandson, Thomas de Berkeley, 6th Baron by tenure, had writs of summons to parliament from June 24, 1295 (the 23rd year of King Edward I.), to May 15, 1321 (the 14th year of King Edward II.). In 1301, 1302, and 1305 he was serving in the Scottish wars with Maurice and John his son; prisoner at the battle of Bannockburn, in June 1314; Justice of West Wales, 1317. He died July 23, ???. His younger son, James, was Bishop of Exeter, 1326."

The Berkeley family is unique in having an unbroken male line of descent from a Saxon ancestor before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066 to the 20th Century. The family descends from Harding, the son of Eadnoth (Alnod), who was "Marshal" or "Staller", a high official under King Edward the Confessor. A study of dates makes it probable that this Harding had a son of the same name, perhaps the man who played a distinguished part in the Crusading Wars, helping King Baldwin I of Jerusalem, to win the battle of Jaffa in 1102. Harding was probably not the son of the king of Denmark or a companion of William the Conqueror.(<b>2)

Harding held as his principle holding the manor of Merriott (from whence de Meriet) in 1086 in Crewkerne, Somerset, England. He lost most of the lands previously held by his father, much of which had gone to Hugh of Chester, in 1086. He was a young man in 1086, since his second son lived until the 1170's.(1)

William of Malmesbury, speaking of Harding as then alive, tells us (3) that he was 'better used to whet his tongue in strife than to wield his arms in war.' This Harding may probably be identified with the Harding who, in 1062, subscribed the confessor's Waltham charter as 'reginæ pincerna' (4), and continued after the Conquest in the household of Eadgyth, appearing as a witness to the sale of Combe to Bishop Gisa, transacted in Eadgyth's presence at Wilton in 1072 (5). In 1086 he held lands in Gloucestershire in pledge of a certain Brihtric, who held them in the time of Edward the Confessor (<b>6). It is safe to assume that Robert FitzHarding was his son. It is possible that Harding had an elder son, Nicolas, the ancestor of the family of Meriet. If this was so, the younger son soon outstripped the older in wealth.(7)

The parentage of Harding (living c. 1125) has been long and hotly disputed. He has been termed "son of the King of Denmark" (as in the petition of 1661), "Mayor of Bristol", and so forth. The view now generally accepted is that he was the son of Eadnoth (killed 1068), "Staller" to King Harold and to Edward the Confessor. E.A. Freeman pronounces this descent "in the highest degree probable." Eyton (in his "Shropshire") devoted much attention to the subject. Reference may also be made to the valuable researches of A. S. Ellis, and to Greenfield's most valuable Pedigree of Meriet, tracing the descent of that family from Nicholas de Meriet, elder brother to Robert Fitz Harding. The charters of Berkeley Castle were edited for Lord FitzHardinge in 1892 by I. H. Jeayes. Some genealogy websites also purport that Harding married the daughter of the King of Denmark, apparently confusing the above-mentioned petition of 1661. (8)

The following was in Dugdale's Baronage:

...That Harding... is by some said [Vet. MS. in castro de Berkley Lel Coll. Vol. 1. 912] to have been the youngest Son to one of the Kings of Denmark; and by [Lel. Itin. 420] others, Ex Regia Prosapia Fegum Daniæ ortus, Descended from the Royal Line of those Kings (which little differs in point of honor and dignity:) And that, accompanying Duke William of Normandy, in that signal expedition which he made into England, he was in that memorable Battle, with him, against King Harold, wherein being victor, he thenceforth became King of this Realm. But all I have farther seen of this Harding, is, That after that Conquest, he held Wirenhort (now called Whetenhust) in Com. Gloc. of Earl Brictrick, in mortgage; and that he died 6 Nov. 16. Hen. 1. Other Sons this Harding, before-specified, had, viz. Nicholas, who in 12 Hen. 2. residing in Somersetshire, held there two Knights Fees, and an half of the King; Elias, Jordan, and Maurice; as also three Daughters, Agnes, the Wife of Hugh de Haselee, Maud, and Cicely.(9)

Don't believe everything you read!

Issue-

· ?3I. ELIAS/JOHN- b.c.1086 · II. Robert- b.c.1095, m. Eva FitzEstmond, bur. 5 Feb. 1171 St. Augustine's Priory, Bristol. Robert "The Devout" FitzHarding was the Lord of Berkeley · III. Nicholas- b.c.1100, m. niece of Robert, Bishop of Salisbury, d. before 1171 Ref:

(1) Domesday People- Keats-Rohan, p. 244 (2) Burke's Peerage and Baronetage- pp. 43-47, 232-3, The Ligon Family; The Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage of the British Empire- The Earl of Berkeley, pp. 70-71, 254 (1882) (3) Gest. Reg.- Vol. III, p. 254 (4) Codex Dipl.- Vol. IV, p. 159 (5) Liber Albus- Vol. III, p. 254 fo. Chapter Records, Wells (6) Domesday- Vol. I, 170 B (7)Dictionary of National Biography- Leslie Stephen & Sidney Lee, Ed., MacMillan Co., New York & Smith, Elder & Co. London, 1908, vol II, p. 340 (8) Complete Peerage of England Scotland Ireland Great Britain and the United Kingdom- G. E Cokayne, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 2000- Vol. II, p.124 (d) (9) Dugdale's Baronage- Vol. I, Berkley, pp. 349-369

The Plantagenet Ancestry-William Henry Turton, 1968- p. 120 -------------------- Harding Fitz Eadnoth, High Prince of Denmark, Lord of Marriott, Mayor of Bristol

Distinguished in assisting King Baldwin I of Jerusalem in Crusade to win the battle of Jaffa in 1102.

Harding (1048-1125) [Pedigree]

Son of Ednoth (1024-1068)

   b. ABT 1048, Bristol, Gloucester, Eng.

d. Aft 1125
Married Livida (1073-)

Children:

  1. Robert FITZHARDING (1096-1170) m. Eva FITZESTMOND (1100-1170).

Sources:

1. "Genealogical Server, www.genserv.com",

        Cliff Manis.

Meriet of Meriet by B. W. Greenfield 1883

p. 101. Harding filius Elnodi of the Exchequer Domesday, 1086, called Hardinicus filius Elnodi & Hardin de Meriet in the Inquisitio Gheldi, 1084, who flourished from 1084-1140, was one of the Anglo Thanes of Somersetshire. ..He had in 1086, six Somerset Manors..[from the Domesday Book] 1. Digenescova (Discove) in Bruton Hundred, 2. Brada in the hundred of Abdick. 3. Capilanda in the same hundred. 4. Bochelanda ( Buckland St Mary) in Abdick, 5. Lopen in South Petherton hundred, 6. Meriet (Merriott) in the hundred of Cruche (Crewkerne) Harding Fitz Elnodi was one of the Justices Itinerant in Devon & Cornwall & Exeter to investigate the Royal Pleas in Lent, 9 Williamm II 1096.